Banality of Evil

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives Art Prize is a unique international art competition that aims to bring awareness to the idea of ‘thoughtlessness’ of our times. We will be raising international stage to showcase exemplary artwork that tackles the idea of the existence of evil in modern society that is somehow not seen as evil and to offer potential solutions to this concept through artistic vision.

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition was originated by the artist and visual activist SaySay.Love. SaySay.Love has a unique way of seeing the world. Born with an optical disability making it impossible to see the world three-dimensionally. His work shares his emotional experiences and unique reflections on social issues. Thinking with his heart rather than just intellect being the driving force behind much of his work. His passion for addressing social issues inspired him to start a global conversation in the form of an art competition opening discourse around the ‘thoughtlessness’ of our times. SaySay is urging us to give thought to the idea that many of history’s greatest evils, instead of being carried out by fanatics or sociopaths, were done by ordinary people who accepted the premises of their state and actions, as “normal”. This “normal” being exemplified in the philosophical works of Hannah Arendt by coining the phrase “the banality of evil”. SaySay.Love has created a unique interactive platform, inviting artists from around the globe to submit work showing how perceived “evil” is yet seen as “normal” in our daily lives.

We are calling artists from across the globe who are older than 18 years to submit their entries. Only 1 piece of art per entrant will be allowed. Work in the following categories will be accepted: Painting and Drawing, Sculpture, Photography, Video and Digital Media Art and Performance Art.
Most importantly we are looking for groundbreaking ideas.

The call for entries opens on the 1st of November 2019
Participants will need to fill out the registration form and send the artwork to [email protected]. You will need to include a link to your cloud sharing platform in case if media files exceed 10MB file size limit.
‍
ONLY ONE artwork per entry will be accepted. A successful registration implies a submission of one and only one artwork that is meeting our format and data requirements. Your artwork must be submitted along with the completed registration form.
‍
It is crucially important that you set the proper context for your artwork. Make sure that your answer in the registration form contains a description of how your artwork is related to the theme of the project. This description is obligatory and will be used throughout all our channels to promote and select your work.
‍
Please see criteria for submission. As soon as artwork is submitted, selected works will be uploaded to social media channels and the first selection of pieces as voted by the public will commence. Artists who meet with the competition criteria will need to declare their indemnity on the registration form authorising the organisers to publish work online.
A discussion thread will be created on social media for participation and engagement.

The closing date for entering is the 15th of March 2020. Jury selection of work for final places in the competition will take place from 16th March to 1st April 2020. To make it more fair to all artist, we introduced a wild card that can be drawn by each jury and team member. Wildcard selected artist will also be reviewed by the judging jury.

The final exhibition date will be set for September/October of 2020 at a venue in Berlin, Germany.

The entry needs to be uploaded onto digital format so that judges are able to view the submissions on a computer screen from anywhere in the world.
‍
Format for entries:

1. ‍As images in high quality .jpeg or uncompressed .tiff at a mininum resolution of 8MP or higher.

2. ‍Need to be photographed in good light, with additional close-ups. File format criteria as for Photos, at a mininum resolution of 8MP or higher.

3. Sculptures: ‍Either by 360 degree video, not longer than 3 minutes, or by maximum 12 pictures from all sides in good light. File format criteria as for videos.

4. Videos / Animation: Please upload mp4 video file, at least 60 seconds long, minimum HD 1080p resolution. Additionally please provide an image to be used a cover for the video.

5. Performance: ‍Please upload mp4 video file, minimum HD 1080p resolution. Additionally please provide an image to be used a cover for the video.

1. Your artist statement (a brief representation for and in support of, your own work to give the viewer a better understanding of you as an artist)

2. All selected artists it will gain exposure on our social media platforms, i.e Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with targeted international campaigns

3. A detailed account of the process in which the work was created

4. A short biography of the artist

• Artists whose work has been selected to be part of the competition, will receive a "Thank You Certificate" for participation in the artist call.

• All selected artists it will gain exposure on our social media platforms, i.e Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with targeted international campaigns

• The top 10 artworks in each of the 4 categories which receive most public votes will proceed to the jury voting round. Jury board will review all submitted works which will be exhibited at the final exhibition in Berlin, Germany.

• It is envisaged that the jury selected artists will also have their work published in a book that will document the project.

• Only the winners (4) of each category will be invited to Germany to be a part of the exhibition to receive the art award.

The overall winners of each of the 4 categories will receive a cash prize of US $2000.
The categories are: Painting & Drawing; Sculpture; Photography; Video and Digital Media Art and Performance Art

This competition does not charge an entry fee. Please note that artists are responsible for the payment and shipment of their works to the exhibition in Berlin if they are part of the top 40 winners.

This competition is independently funded through a crowdfunding platform. Our crowdfunding platform raises the unique opportunity to rally support that will go toward building momentum and raising awareness around the topic of the competition. Please follow the link for more information.

The judging panel will comprise of an international panel of esteemed individuals who have proven expertise in art, culture, community and social practices.

The Banality of Evil in our Daily Lives art competition is an open call for all artists, to communicate what they see as the banality of evil in our daily lives. The selection criteria is based on creativity, imagination, professionalism and expression of the subject. All entries will be judged equally regardless of the background of the entrant. We would like to open the stage for diversity to thrive.

All copyright to the artwork media remains with their appropriate owners. Participating artists agree to our Terms & Conditions, specifically that their artwork will be used to promote growth of the project. Such usage might include posting artwork on our social media channels and the website of the project.

Please fill in the below form or send a message to [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.